Reduction gear unit



July 7, 1953 A. s. WHEELBARGER 2,644,346

REDUCTION GEAR UNIT Filed NOV. 17, 1948 W m Y l- AHor/wys F ig. 6

Patented July 7, 19753 REDUCTION GEAR UNIT Albert S. Wheelbarger,Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Rockwell Register Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, acorporation of New York f Application November 17, 1948, Serial No.60,612

11 Claims. (Cl. 'i4-640) This invention relates to reduction gear unitsvandhas for its general object :and purpose to provide a reduction gearunit of novel design for meters, such as taximeters, speedometers,odometers and other registering devices.

With the evolutionof design of motor vehicles, the need for smaller.taximeters and other auxiliary equipment Sbecame apparent. It was thegeneral practice to install the reduction gear box for .the'meter at thedrive cable connection lon the transmission or the rear end gear housingof the vehicle., However, the modern trend toward lower centers ofgravity makes the installation of the gear box at this location verydinicult,. and in some cases impossible, without very radical fandexpensive changes in design. The enclosure of the reduction gearingwithin the meterhousing is not feasible, since the gear lubricantwouldbe thrown through the meter mechanism and one meter could not beinterchanged with another without complication and expense,

where a fleet of taxicabs of different makes wouldr possibly requiredifferent kreduction gear ratios due to relatively different finaldrivev gear ratios of the vehicles.

IIt is therefore a prominent object of the present '.invention'toovercome the above noted difliculties by the provision of a reductiongear box of minimum dimensions for direct attachment to the bottom wallof a meter housing and novel means for establishing a driving connectionbetween the reductionV gear and the drive shaft for th'evmetermechanism.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a novelmounting and arrangement o f the reduction gearing within the gear boxwhich obviates the necessity for close manufacturing clearances in thegear box construction while providing the requisite stability in themounting rof the cooperating gear elementsv in a box of minimumdimensions.

A more' specific object of the invention is to provide a `gear reductionembodying a vertically disposedvworm journalled in the gear box forconnection with the flexible drive shaft or cable, and a diagonallydisposed fixed shaft mounted rin the gear box having a gear rotatablymounted thereon in mesh with said worm and drivingly connected with agear journalled in the bottom wall of the gear box, together with aflexible shaft connection between the latter gear and the drive shaftfor the meter mechanism permitting of more orv less misalignment betweensaid shaft andgear.

An additionalobject of the invention is to provide a gear box and acover plate for the open top of said box :attached theretoby suitablescrewsV together with means inaccessible from the exterior :of the box4for attaching said cover plate to the bottom wall of the meter housingand preventing accessv to theattaching screws for the coverplate.

It is' also above characterizedof simple, durable and inexpensiveconstruction and which may be easily and quickly interchanged for use inconnection with the taximeters of different vehicles.

With the above and lother objectsin view, theV invention resides in theimproved reduction vgear box or unit as will hereinafter be more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying draw'-A lFigure 2 is a sideelevation of the gear box,l thel bottom Wall of `the meter housing beingshownin section;

Figure V3 is a top plan vview,the cover plate of"L the gear box beingremoved.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substantallyon the line4-4ofCEigure l;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional View taken sub-`A stantiallgon the line5-5 of ,Figure 3;" and Aligure 6 isa longitudinal vertical sectionVtaken substantially on the lines- 6 of Figure 3. Y

Referring'in further detail to the drawing, in

Figures land 2 thereof I have shown a' portion'j of the bottom wall H ofa meter casing or housing4 to the outer side face of which my improvedreduction gearbox is v'attached in the manner which will be laterdescribed. I

As shown in kFigure 3'of the drawing, the body Hlo'f the gear box is ofgeneral rectangular form,-

and of substantially equal length and width. 'ILhe corners of the boxarel preferably rounded andv diametrically opposite corners thereof arethickened and'reinforced .as at l2 and provided with internalflat facesI4 and IB' respectively disposed in parallel transversely inclinedplanes.

The 'bottom-Wall IB of the boxv is relatively thick and is formedr witha depending tubular `boss 20,* located-in slightly spaced relation fromthekaim and purpose ofthe presentl invention to provide a reduction4gear box, :as

a deeper andi relatively narrow recess- 28" is formed in said bottomWall at right angles to the recess 26. One end of the recess 28 and oneside of the recess 26 intersects the opening Zithrough.Y

the bottom wall while the other end of the re'- cess 28 terminatesadjacent.onefsidefwalkof thel box.

The reinforced corners I2 of the box have open-A ings 36 and 32extending therethrough Withtheir axes substantially normal to the cornerfaces I4 and I5 respectively and intersectingthe ends.

of recess 26 at their lower sides. Each of the reinforced corners I2isalso provided with. a tapped vertical, bore 34.and1adowel pin receiveing bore 36.A At. onecorner of the box, the.open

ing-.32 is intersected'by a Vertical bore;38i having;

a, shallow counterbore 46.- at its.` upper.l end: Ad-

jacentto the-corner. face. |4, and-centrally. of thev recess 26, thebottom wall I8 of the boxisformed withacylindricalcavity 42 having .abronze vbearing bushing44 press ttedtherein.

Thefreduction. gear assembly within the, box

chamber'includes. a. stationary arbor. orA shaft, havinga .largediameter -end portion 46 terminata ing at itsfinner end-in theannularshould'er'll and arelatively long small; diameter. portion. 56.

In-spacedirelation tofitsA endthe latter portion of the fshaft isprovided with. aI diametrically exftending opening 52. adaptedtoregisterwith the bore 38.in the wallof. the box.. Inwardlyof the:v

opening 52, a tapered opening of relatively small diameterextendsthrough the shaft portion 56.to receive the-securing pin. 54 .for a.spacing collar 5.6.. Thelarge diameter end portion 46v of the Vshaft inzpredetermined spaced .relation from the.

shoulder 48 is also provided .with a diametrically. extending-opening58of relatively largefdiameter axiallyparallel withA the opening 52.

In the. assembly of thereductiongearing withintheboxaworm.- 60 isrst..mounted in position,V said Worm havingan axial-ly bored; cylindricalshaft extension 62 at its lower end rotatably'mounteddnthebearingbushing 2.4. An

interchangeable adaptonmember. 64. is securedin'.

the bore. of the. shaft 62.-by.the;vpin 66` for .con-

nection with the flexible. drive: shaft, on cableI 23 and theboss-ZZexternally threadedtoreceive aicoupling nut .2.5. forsaiddriveshaft.At..

its-,upper.'end the: wormyi.V is provided. with. a short axiallyprojecting stud shaft 68.-. The: cylindrical.- shaftportion. 'I2 of. amiter gear. 16, is now.' mounted vfor rotation inthe bearing. bush.-ingt44'.r This gear is'provided with-.arectangular axial' bore f1.4.

The; collar 56-V isynow removed: from. shaft por-- tion 56 and a wormgear I6 having hollow hub.

extensions 'I8Y and 8.6.` projecting-1 axially. in. op-

posite directions therefrom andv a. miter gear 82; onltne hubextension86 is then. arrangedin. position'withsai'd. gear 82 in meshwith the-miter.` gear V'16. and worm gear 'I6 positioned directlyvabovev the recessA 28V and. inv mesh with. the.- worm; The smalldiameter portion. 56 .of4 the.- shaft.

66:A is now-'inserted' through. the opening 36. in. the box Wall and thebore of gear 16. Collar 56- is held in; positionbetweenthe gear hub. 'I8and. the internal; surface.` I6.. on;the. box: and thea shaft..

4 passed therethrough and into the opening 32 until the shoulder 48 onthe shaft abuts the gear 82 and the large diameter end portion 46 of theshaft is positioned in the opening 36. The opening 52 in the shaft Willthen be aligned with the vertical opening 38 in the box wall to receivethe locking pin 84, the head 86 of which is received in, theVvcounterbore 40. and; disposed below the upper face of 'thezbox wall.Opening 58 in the shaft is thus positioned in substantially coaxialrelation with the gear 16. Pin 54 is now inserted tonon-rotatably securethe collar 56 to the shaft. By'the use of this fixed shaft rotatablysupportingthergean`- 16; thenecessity for close manufacfturingtolerances. in the gear box construction andtheuseof end bearingsto rotatably support the shaftand. insure. a correct meshing relation ofgear' "I6 with worm 66 is eliminated, thus effecting an appreciableeconomy in production. In the assembly, a light grade oil is applied tothe. ends.` of theshaft. and to. the intermediate part thereof.. on,which. gear 1.6.. is.. mounted.

A flexible drive transmitting shaft., 88. is .pro;, vided. with adaptermembersL 9|).I and. 92. respectively at its opposite. ends. havingsquare,v shank' portions. lIhe. shank. portion. of. thev adapterl 96 is.inserted downwardly through. shaft. opening. 58.and..intothe. squarebore. 1.4. of the. mitergear '16. mounted. in the bottom. of theboxwalll After. the application ofa.. generous. supplyof gearlubricant,.a. sealing gasket 94 is pla-cedupon:

theupper edgesof the boxwall's, and the coverA plate 96 then-applied.This plate is provided with-a bronze bearing. bushing 98." to receivethe.

is receivedin clearance relation to the vvallpof` said. bushing, In.transversely spaced relation fromeach side. ofthe bushing |66, theplate96' is provided' withopenings |62.,.and`A before application. of.V the.cover.- plate,` theattaching bolts` |64 are inserted upwardly throughthese openings'. Adjacent to` the end heads |66 engaging. the underside. off, the plate 96, the bolts. |64 .are knurl'ed or serrated' as.at |68to interlock with theed'gesof'openings |62 and thus securely holdthe` bolts. against. rotation.

Blate- 96 which. substantially. corresponds; in form-.or contour tothebox body'l is provided at. diagonally opposite corners thereof withthe 1'0- cating. dowel. pinsl I .I 6. which are. received fin theverticalbores 36.. to. accurately. register. openings. in said. plate.with. the tapped4 bores 3.4. receiving; the...attachingA screws..|.|2..for the plate 96,. the` heads..of.l which..are countersunk. in. theupper. surfacev of. saidplate...

rlhe. bottom. Wall of. the. metenhousing, Hfis.

formed with an upstanding; boss |.|.4. and. a. cof

axial: cylindrical opening ||6 extending through saidbossandhousingwall.. A- shallow counterbore |I8 isprovided at the. lower endof.` said. openingY to receivethe. flange ofthe bushingln., In-.theupperend of. the.. opening |.|.6.,v abronze. bearing. bushing. |26 is`fitted..

Thegearboxassembly. is.,no.w mounted on the, underside .ofthemeter.housingwall, thebolts. l 64 carried by thecoverplate 96 being.inserted up- Wardly through openings |2'I. in .said Wallwhich areequidistantly spaced from opposite sides. of' the boss II4. Theseopenings areA slightly arcuate, the bushing |66 establishing only anapprox.- imate locationofthegear box.on-the meter hous- `ing Wall. Ashort spindle |22 is rotatably mounted inthe bearing andprovided with asquare bore section |24 receiving the-upper end of Ithe square shank ofadapter member 92. The

with the use of the flexible drive transmitting shaft 38 and adapters 90and 92 the close tolerances Awhich are heretofore required in the use ofa rigid drive shaft connection betweenthe gear v.box and the meter areavoided as an exact coaxial. Vrelation between the miter gear 10 anddrive shaft |30 is unnecessary to insure an uninterrupted transmissionof the drive without binding or excessive torsional stress inthe driveshaft connection. K l

It will be noted that the cover plate attaching screws I2 of the gearbox are concealed by the Wall of the meter housing H while the attachingbolts |04 for the gear box are inaccessible from the exterior of themeter. However, as an additional precautionary measure, to preventtampering with the gear box, I may provide theend ofthe cover plateremote from bolts |04 and the corresponding end wall of the body I0 ofthe box with mating apertured lugs |32and |34 respectively to receive aheaded bolt or screw |38 inserted upwardly through said lugs andthreaded into the bottom wall of the meter housing H as shown in Figure2 of the drawings. The bolt head has a transverse perforation, and aperforated lug |38 projects laterally from the housing wall at the lowerend thereof for the connection of said lug and bolt by a conventionalwire seal |40 to thereby prevent the undetected removal of the bolt |36.

By limiting the number of close tolerances in the gear box casting, thedesired interchangeability of parts is achieved so that the reductiongear ratio may be readily changed, and the same gear box employed inconnection with meters of various makes of motor vehicles havingrelatively diiferent driving gear ratios.

From the rabove description and the accompanying drawings, it will beseen that I have provided a novel reduction gear box for direct mountingupon the housing of a taximeter or the like which is of minimumdimensions and low production cost, together with a novel mounting andarrangement of the reduction gear assembly therein for connection withthe drive shaft of the taximeter. liliiioiently functioning operation isthereby insured, notwithstanding axial misalignment between the finalreduction gear element and the meter drive shaft. The several parts arealso readily interchangeable and the assembly thereof may be easily andquickly made. The invention further provides novel means for quicklylocating and securing the gear box in its mounted position on the meterhousing and effecting a flexible driving connection between the meterdrive shaft and the reduction gear.

The invention may be embodied in other specic formswithout departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and allchanges which come Within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. What is claimedand desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

Vl. In combination with a meter housing having an opening in the bottom'wall thereof, drive means for meter mechanism within said housingincluding a gear reduction box having a gear element journalled in thebase wall thereof, reduction gearing in said box drivingly connectedrwith said gear element, means mounting said gear box onthe externalsurface of said housing wall with said gear element in approximatecoaxial relation to said openlng, and means unsupported by the box wallsdrivingly connecting said gear element with the meter mechanismincluding a exible shaft element Ycompensating for axial misalignvnientbetween said opening'and gear element.

2. A reduction` gear, assembly comprising a body having a shallowinternal chamber of substantially rectangular form, a non-rotatableshaft extending between diagonally opposite corners of said chamber andhaving an opening therethrough substantially normal to the shaft axis,reduction gearing within said body including a' driven gear elementjournalled on said shaft, and a power transmitting shaft connected tosaid gear element and extending through said opening.

3. A reduction gear box as defined in claim 2, wherein said drivetransmitting shaft embodies a shaft section angularly movable relativeto the axis of said opening.

4. A reduction gear box as defined in claim 2, wherein said meanscomprises a gear journalled in the base of said box body and said drivetransmitting shaft is flexibly. connected with said gear.

5. A reduction gear box, comprising 'a box body of substantiallyrectangular form having an elongated recess in its base wall, a xedshaft mounted in .said body in axially parallel relation with saidrecess and closely contiguous thereto, and reduction gearing in said boxbody comprising a driven gear rotatably mounted on said shaft, a secondgear drivingly connected with said driven gear journalled in the basewall of the box body immediately below said shaft and within saidrecess, said shaft having a radial opening therethrough for a drivetransmitting connection to said second gear.

6. A reduction gear boxl as defined in claim 5, wherein said recess andshaft extend between diagonally opposite corners of the box body.

7. A reduction gear box as ldened in claim 5, wherein the base wall ofthe gear box is provided with a second relatively deep recessintersecting said first named recess of right angles thereto toaccommodate said driven gear.

8. A reduction gear box as defined in claim 5, wherein the base wall ofthe gear box is provided with a vertical opening therethroughintersecting one side of said recess, and a drive member for said drivengear journalled in said opening and having means for connection with aflexible drive shaft.

9. A reduction gear box comprising a box body of shallow depth, anon-rotatable shaft mounted in said body in substantially parallelrelation to the bottom wall thereof, input and output drive transmittingelements journalled in the bottom Wall of said body for rotation aboutparallel axes substantially normal to the axis of said shaft, said inputelement being spaced from one side of said shaft and said output elementmounted directly :below said Shaft fredii-Ging regering retatablymounted. Qn fsaidhaft and operatives/merlettinseaid inputelement with,Said-Output element, and final drive ti'ausruiting means unsupportedbythew leoxyallsand operatvelyrcounected with utputelement.

A reductiongear IooXl yas Adeiied in claim .9, in $ad--shaftsfprovi1ed`with .an opening in vcazfial. ,relation with. ,said output,felevrrnentVA and ,said @nel ,drive tranemtting-means eomprisespa.slgaftelen-Lentextending vthrough said. opening ,and egiblyQllnectedfwitu said Outputelemet. 1-1. A1geduetonvgear mlehanismcomprsingra 1ga1lowboxa .shaft mounted in sadvbox and se- Luged-infgedrelation theretov with its axis subletanjgiaily parallelsto,thebottom of.said box, ksaid htbeing ,piovded with a transverse opening, inputiwuindQutput gear `@lffllents-iQurlfwtlledinthe .bottom ofrsa-id.bexalld nacedapartaxially of Said @haft intermediate kgearing ,tumalled Qn-;S.aid2haft;;and pdriyinglyf connecting the` input .gear element:withthe Outlet gear Yelementfratns1 drivetanmittingimeansfqoaxially..fixed to; said Output; gearfelementanextending through said .;openinggn-fsad;Shaft- ALBERT Si. ReferencesCitedrn the leof this patent UNITED STATES APATENTS Number Name lDateY'704,245 La ne July 5, 1904 768,991 'Hoffman Aug. 30, 1904 868,767`Dunholter Oct. 22, 1907 1,074,341 Avery Sept. 30, 1913 1,156,2334Jol'ianssen et al. Oct. 12, 1915 1,319,205 CarsonY Oct. 21, 19192,210,154 Stevens et a1 .Aug. 6, 1940I A2,214,458 Glamb Sept. 10, 19402,417,303 Jordan Mar. 11,1947

